Chapter 337:
January 13th
The sky was just beginning to lighten when Hayashi Kaede woke the Pokémon he was taking to the Pokémon League Conference, returned them all to their Poké Balls, and gave instructions to the Indeedee siblings.
Although he was taking most of his Pokémon, Salamence was still at home. If anything dangerous happened, they could ask it for help.
"Indeedee~!" Both Indeedee nodded in unison. There wasn't much going on at home right now so they could take good care of the Pokémon who remained.
Hayashi Kaede didn't have much to worry about as it wasn't his first time leaving.
He jumped onto Dragonite's back, and with a whoosh, Dragonite's figure disappeared into the dawn.
...
Kyōka City
7:30 AM
Eastova Arena
This was the largest Arena in the Eastova League.
Not only was it several times larger than a football field, but its arena floor was also built from densely packed, hardened stone.
It also included energy shields capable of withstanding the residual impact of battles between Elite Four-level Pokémon.
During the tournament, the League had even stationed many Psychic-type Pokémon in the background to prevent any unexpected incidents.
…
Pokémon League Conference Registration Desk.
This was located at the entrance of the Eastova Arena.
The staff member, Old Jack, felt an indescribable helplessness.
The conference was about to start.
Spectators from all over were already streaming in.
But so far, among all the registered participants, one was still missing?
He'd been handling registration for the Pokémon League Conference for five years. Registration opened three days before the conference began.
But usually, all participants registered on the first day and few came on the second.
This is the first time he encountered someone not showing up by the day of the competition itself.
"Hayashi Kaede, from Aogiri Town, Aogiri City..."
"Hey, Aogiri City actually has two participants this year."
Old Jack couldn't help but smile as he looked at this year's list of registered participants.
Just then, a young man came panting towards the registration room.
A Officer Jenny accompanied him.
He was muttering, "made it, I made it..."
The newcomer was, of course, Hayashi Kaede.
Dragonite was fast. They had set off at 6 AM and arrived in Kyōka City by 7 AM.
But as soon as Dragonite entered Kyōka City's airspace, it was immediately spotted by the city's law enforcement patrol.
After explaining the situation, an Officer Jenny escorted him all the way here.
"Hayashi Kaede?" Old Jack, responsible for registration, looked at the arriving young man and inquired.
"Yes." Hayashi Kaede nodded.
"Why are you only arriving now?" Old Jack gave him a sidelong glance but still verified his information and checked his ID.
"Heh... It's just a bit far, that's all," Hayashi Kaede explained.
"Far? You're not the only one from Aogiri City. There's another young man who arrived on the first day." Old Jack refuted while processing the registration.
Hayashi Kaede smiled awkwardly.
But he quickly grew interested in the other participant from Aogiri City.
If he guessed correctly, it should be Yūji.
After registration was complete,
Old Jack looked at him. "There's staff at the entrance who will take you to the designated waiting rooms. The matches start today at 9 AM. Attendants will bring food; you can register your Pokémon's dietary preferences, and they'll note everything down."
"Okay, okay..."
Following the corridor, Hayashi Kaede was soon led by staff to the hotel located beneath the spectator stands.
An attendant quickly came to inquire about his food requirements.
Hayashi Kaede thought for a moment and requested some ingredients rather than pre-made meals.
The room was spacious, with a large screen inside.
There were many other rooms outside, presumably for the other participants.
The screen displayed the tournament schedule, number of participants, and various apps.
There was also a live stream of the matches.
Participants could watch the upcoming Pokémon League Conference matches here or go out to the designated participant seating area.
There were 128 participants in total.
Hayashi Kaede glanced through their basic information.
Gender, hometown, and personal photo.
Some who didn't want to reveal their identity even had pixelated mosaics over their faces.
"Is that necessary?" Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but scoff.
Even with a mosaic, their faces would be shown when they took the field.
Unless they wore masks?
But soon, his assumption was proven right.
Looking through the information, there really were participants who wore masks.
This certainly seemed more formal than the Junior Cup.
Shaking his head, Hayashi Kaede stopped focusing on that and began releasing his Pokémon one by one.
"Ninetales~"
"Eevee...."
"Ooo~"
One Pokémon after another emerged from their Poké Balls.
The once-spacious room suddenly felt a bit crowded.
Hayashi Kaede took out a relatively large tank from his storage capsule and released Milotic too.
Its long body immediately filled the entire room.
Fortunately, it controlled its posture upon appearing, floating in the air and trying its best not to touch the furniture.
"Milotic isn't battling, so you should eat a Shape Shifting Energy Cube."
"The rest of you probably don't need one, right?"
After eating a Shape Shifting Energy Cube, the effects lasted from 8 to 24 hours. During that time, they couldn't change back at will.
Hearing his words, none of the Pokémon objected, being more curious about the new environment.
Pokémon like Dragonite and Gardevoir, who had spent years outside before, seemed fine.
Gardevoir sat quietly on the bed.
Dragonite sat on the floor, scratching its head with a claw.
Even Pokémon like Serperior, Alolan Ninetales, Blaziken, and Primarina, who had been outside before, were curiously inspecting their surroundings, eventually focusing on the central screen.
Not to mention Alcremie, Meowscarada... etc.
One grew up in a pastry shop, making cakes every day; the other had never really been away from home before.
"This is a screen. Our opponents will appear on it later," Hayashi Kaede explained, seeing their curious gazes.
Just then, his phone rang.
Hayashi Kaede picked it up and saw it was Kazephyr, asking if he had arrived.
He replied, "I'm here."
Coincidentally, the screen began to change.
The 128 participant portraits started spinning rapidly.
Clearly, the match draw was beginning.
The portraits spun wildly, soon, the first-round matchups were selected.